50 shades of chocolate
by InnapropriateWordChoice
Summary: Merlin works at Gaius' coffeeshop as a university student, when one day his life gets turned upside-down when he meets funny, loveable, shy, socially-anxious Arthur. Arthur breaks away from the Pendragon candy company to start his own smaller chocolate business with Merlin as his business partner... but could their blooming friendship become something more? (Of course it can!)


Merlin had worked at the Dragon for a number of months before he met Arthur. In fact, he was only just getting into a daily routine- a rhythm- before the proud, intelligent man with a lightning fast sense of humor had waltzed into his life with a cheeky grin and some rather flustered flirting.

The day had started out as any other- Merlin worked an evening shift and had just finished his classes for the day at university. He arrived on time: two o'clock sharp at the small Cardiff coffee shop and dealt with the regular day-to-day customers. The chatty university girls came in for caramel frappuccinos before starting the weekend (it was a Friday), as well as a later barrage of mothers about to pick their young ones up from primary school, and the later still elderly ladies who wanted a quiet place for teatime.

In fact, Merlin had been given a right time of it when attempting to explain politely to a kind but somewhat befuddled grey-haired woman who was hard of hearing that _no_, they did not in fact serve tea, _yes_ they were a coffee establishment, could he interest her in something else perhaps? Yes, he understood that this was within the United Kingdom, but_ no_, contrary to popular belief not all places served tea.

After the grey-haired woman left rather abruptly, Merlin exhaled in relief before checking his watch. The digital numbers blinked '7:12' tauntingly at him, _only eighteen minutes to go,_ they seemed to laugh. Giving another sigh, Merlin pushed down the sleeve to his bright red shirt and instead turned his focus to the next customer waiting in line.

The man standing before him was tall, muscular and blond, and he wore a cheeky grin left over from something his friend, a handsome fellow with rugged dark hair, had said not a moment before.

"Can I help you?" Merlin asked, turning the blond bloke's attention back to the counter. He raised his eyebrows at Merlin and opened his mouth but before he was able to say anything his friend interrupted him.

"Yeah," the blond man blushed as his friend talked over him, "-I'll take a mocha cappucino with extra whipped cream, and this guy'll have a hot chocolate," he grinned, adding, "he can have whipped cream but he's not allowed to have anything caffeinated, doctor's orders,"

"Gwaine!" Mr. Handsome Blond Guy seemed peeved, "Sorry about him-" he continued as he shoved Gwaine away from the counter and toward a table, "-he has problems. I just um, I don't er. Don't happen to like coffee. That's all. I'm Arthur," he introduced himself.

After a moment Merlin realized he was staring and that introductions usually required a response, "Me-erlin," he managed to stammer out once his tongue managed to catch up to his brain.

Mr. Handsome Blond Guy -_Arthur_- Merlin corrected himself – snorted "Of course you're Merlin. You're wearing a- y'know-" he gestured at Merlin's nametag, "-thing," he finished lamely, and hoping he wasn't blushing. As his cheeks began to turn pink anyway Arthur started again, "I mean um. My name. For the – the-"

"The cup?" the fair skinned, brown-haired bloke seemed to be holding back a laugh as Arthur struggled to redeem himself.

"-Yeah that. Not that you know I was trying to introduce myself or anything," it's just that Merlin had... a really nice face. With eyes, a nose a mouth and ears! Wow, Arthur thought as he watched Merlin pick up a pen with his long, smooth fingers.

"Well I've gotta say, having a customer compliment my hands while I work is a first," Merlin startled him out of his daze, and Arthur's face went even redder as he realized he had said that last part out loud. To his surprise, Merlin was grinning and had his eyebrows raised, "tell you what. I'm off in about-" he checked his watch, "-10 minutes now, give or take. I'll meet you when my shift is over and we can talk."

Still blushing, Arthur flashed a genuine smile before picking up the two already cooling drinks and hurrying over to where Gwaine was waiting.

Fifteen minutes later Merlin was sitting and chatting with Arthur and Gwaine as if he had known them both all his life. After overcoming his initial shyness, Arthur had a wicked sense of humor, which was perfectly matched by Merlin's own wit. Gwaine tended to casually flirt with both men and Merlin took it with good humor, learning quickly that this was perfectly normal for the perpetual bachelor.

An hour later Arthur offered to drive Merlin home instead of allowing him to simply take the tube, and the two and Gwaine parted ways, as Gwaine owned a small flat of his own just down the street.

Two years later, Merlin and Arthur's friendship had grown, as had their two respective social circles. It had taken some time for Merlin to coax Arthur out of his shell; although he came from a prestigious family, and had an equally prestigious job, Arthur had social anxiety and was oftentimes an introvert. However, Merlin was always warm and bubbly with a charming personality, and Arthur found that being with Merlin didn't make him feel emotionally drained or tired.

Despite being outgoing and friendly, the two people closest to Merlin were Will, Gwen and his adopted younger brother Mordred, whereas the slightly awkward man Merlin had met that fateful Friday had numerous friends. Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Lancelot became regular figures in Merlin's life, and as soon as Gwen and Lancelot met sparks began to fly. After a few weeks the two had become inseparable, and in doing so united the friendship circles permanently. Will got along well with Leon and Percival, whereas Arthur and Gwaine became fast friends with Merlin. Lancelot was always friendly with everybody, and even managed to become friends with Gwen's overprotective older brother, Elyan, given time (and a liberal amount of coffee tantamount to bribery).

As the years had gone by quickly, Merlin had completed his studies at university. He had also moved on from the Dragon. Gaius, the elderly owner, had understood and still kept a pleasant relationship with the younger man. Merlin himself worked as a permanent company contractor with Arthur; Arthur worked as a businessman in the family chocolate industry- a legacy that every member of the Pendragon line took seriously. Merlin had the qualifications to become a pastry chef and had also taken multiple classes on business and thus worked with Arthur to promote the Pendragon's global sweet business: Camelot.

As the time passed smoothly, Merlin and Arthur's friendship had continued to grow until one evening when the two were to meet to plan for the future of the company. Arthur hadn't wished to be fully dependent on his father as head of the company. Because of this, he had recently begun working towards creating his own line. Arthur was extraordinarily nervous about this discussion – his social anxiety sometimes overwhelmed him and he was a giant worrier, because although he and Merlin were friends, this night held the key to his future and to Merlin's future, and Arthur knew that he wouldn't be able to go through with these plans without Merlin.

Arthur found himself jittery and restless in the morning- he was unable to concentrate at work and succeeded only in annoying his office neighbors with his incessant pen clicking. As the afternoon approached, he paced around his apartment muttering to himself. After attempting to settle down and watch telly (there was, rather predictably, absolutely nothing on) he glanced at the clock and decided it wasn't quite too early to begin getting ready. After a long shower, he settled on a pale green dress shirt and flat black pants as he dragged a comb through his damp blond hair, pushing all... _other_ thoughts of Merlin from his mind. Tonight was an important night- but they were just going to talk about the company. That's all. Arthur made a face at himself in the hallway mirror before grabbing his jacket and leaving his flat.

"So, what exactly did you want to talk about?" Merlin ventured after the server had brought them their water. He was somewhat nervous because he felt rather underdressed for the occasion. Arthur hadn't bothered to tell Merlin where they were going, so Merlin was wearing (nice) jeans and a collared shirt, and felt out-of-place in the posh dining area.

Arthur smiled, "Well, I actually had some important news to share with you, and it has to do with the company," he started, rehearsing what he had planned to say, "You know that I've been looking in to branching out on my own, yeah?" Merlin nodded, eyebrow raised. "Well," Arthur continued, "I've talked to some people about it, and in the next few months, I'll be taking over the Dragon and turning it into a small, private chocolate... factory if you will," he started to grin excitedly.

Merlin stared at Arthur with his mouth agape before managing to speak, "Wow! That's amazing!" he managed.

"But that's not all," Arthur took a deep breath, "I asked you here tonight because I wanted to know... er wanted to know if you'd be interested in um..." he trailed off uncertainly. -_I could have sworn I planned this bit, what was I supposed to say now?-_

Merlin prodded him to continue, "You wanted to know if I would...?"

"I'd like you to work with me as my partner," Arthur's eyes widened, "-Business. Er, business partner, that is," he began to blush again.

"Arthur! I... I don't know what to say..." seeing Arthur's dejected expression Merlin hastily added, "I mean of course! It's fantastic I would love to be with you – um, in the industry- I just can't quite believe it! How did you manage all this anyway?" he asked.

"See the thing is, Gaius is actually a friend of my fathers'. And I heard that he was looking to retire soon, so I talked to him. Turns out he doesn't actually want to retire- he loves working in the coffeeshop, but he'd like someone else to be in charge of the management and paperwork," Arthur paused. "So, I've arranged to purchase and renovate the facilities from him under a contract, and he'll stay on working as he did in the kitchens but without the official responsibilities."

"Wow, just wow," was all Merlin managed to say for a moment. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as their food arrived. "That is truly amazing," Merlin managed to choke out, "This is fantastic,"

Arthur smiled at him nervously, "So what do you say? It'll be up and running in a few weeks' time, and we get to work together to make chocolate!"

Merlin gave him a genuine smile, "That sounds absolutely perfect,"

"I'm glad you like it,"

As the evening continued, the two friends talked about the ins and outs of the future business. As they talked, Merlin stole food from Arthur's plate multiple times, and on more than one occasion Arthur's heart stopped when their fingers brushed as Merlin forced him to try part of his salad bowl.

After leaving the restaurant, Arthur offered Merlin a drive home. When they reached his flat, Merlin turned to bid Arthur farewell and instead was met in a rush by Arthur's mouth on his in a passionate kiss. Before he knew what was happening Merlin was greedily pulling himself closer and returning Arthur's kiss with just as much energy. Breaking away for a moment, Arthur stared at Merlin in shock, first confused about what had made him kiss Merlin in the first place, and second that Merlin had actually reciprocated. He stared at the other man and registered Merlin's flushed ears and sparkling eyes.

"...What do you say we give that another go?" Merlin asked before Arthur answered him with another kiss. This one was slower and more deliberate than the first, but fueled by just as much passion. Arthur buried his left hand in Merlin's hair and with his right he pulled the taller man closer into his embrace. Merlin cupped the sides of Arthur's face as they drew out the kiss, and finally resurfaced for air.

Immediately Arthur was met with a wave of shock. "I-I er that was- I didn't mean to um it all just kind of-"

Merlin held a gentle hand up to Arthur's very red, very soft lips. "Shh, it's okay. I understand what you're trying to say- you haven't... you haven't done this before, have you?" he asked quietly.

Arthur gave a brief, jagged shake of his head in reply.

"Okay then," Merlin continued, "That's fine. Now. What do you say we take a breather and go up to my flat to talk this all out?"

Arthur grinned, "Yes- actually. I'd like that very much,"

After going up to Merlin's flat, they didn't talk. Instead, Arthur seemed to regain his boldness, and as soon as Merlin had shut the door Arthur was pressing him against the wall in another rough session of making out. "Bedroom," Merlin gasped before Arthur had a chance to go any further, "bedroom. First door on the right- _now_,"

They stumbled blindly into Merlin's bedroom where they both collapsed into Merlin's bed and lay there, aggressively devouring each other's mouths and relishing the taste of each other's tongues until Merlin motioned for Arthur to remove his pants. Groaning with pleasure and hungry for more Arthur turned over and began to unzip his jeans shakily.

He was excited, so excited, but before he could start to tug of his jeans, a wave of panic swept over him. He froze in place, and began shaking, thoughts rushing wildly through his head as he became thoroughly overwhelmed by the situation. Noticing his unease, Merlin immediately sat up and moved to the side of his friend with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, squeezing Arthur's shoulder.

The sensation of Merlin's hand on his arm allowed Arthur to resurface and he focused on his breathing while counting _–one, two, three-_ Arthur took a deep labored breath. "It... it's not that I don't want to... you know," his flushed again _–four, five, six-_ as he continued "-because I mean I really do. Want to. Er. It's j- just that-" _–seven, eight, nine-_ he trailed off uncertainly.

Merlin's arm dropped from Arthur's shoulder and instead he reached out and held his hand. Looking at Arthur's face, Merlin saw that Arthur was avoiding his gaze until he prompted him, "Look at me," he started. Arthur wrenched his line of vision from the floor and instead looked into Merlin's own wide, honest, and trustworthy eyes. _–ten–_

"Look," Merlin continued, "I think I understand... and," he squirmed, "I think I also feel the same way. It's overwhelming, for you and for me. Just twenty minutes ago you were dropping me off at my flat as my friend. I should have realized," he gave Arthur's hand a comforting squeeze, "-I took this much too quickly. For both of us. I'm sorry—the thing is, we should probably try for something a little more..." he searched for the word.

"Comfortable?" Arthur supplied.

Merlin grinned, "Yeah. Comfortable. I think that... well it may be old fashioned, but perhaps before we try anything more... involved, first we should go out for ice cream or something," he smiled, "A proper date."

Arthur considered this. "Yes. I... I would. I think I'd really like that," he gave a shy smile, "I'd really like to do that and... maybe then we could talk, yeah?"  
"Great! I mean great. Yes. How about we take the evening off, and you and I meet," Merlin glanced at the calendar on his wall, "Well, I'm free tomorrow. And on Friday, as well. How 'bout Friday at... 6:30,"

"That sounds good to me," Arthur replied. "Ice cream?"

"Ice cream." Merlin smiled.

With that, Arthur awkwardly stood up and motioned toward the door. "So I'll er... Friday and you... so, good! Right," he gave Merlin a long hug before exiting the flat and going down to his car.

_Three months later_

"Honey, I'm home!" Merlin called in a singsong voice as he opened the door to Arthur's flat. "And I brought supper," he carefully set down the bag of Chinese takeout on the coffee table in the sitting room before walking into Arthur's bedroom and flopping down opposite Arthur on his king-sized bed. "Honestly, I cannot believe the amount of work running a private chocolate shop takes! I'm exhausted." he groaned, stretching.

"What exactly did you expect?" Arthur chided him, "I mean after renovations it's only been running for about a month. I expect that sooner or later we'll fall into a routine."

"Easy for you to say- you're the boss. I have to go in everyday and make sure that Gwaine, Lancelot, Gwen and Percival don't mess up in the kitchens, and that Mordred's nice to the customers," Merlin complained. Somehow, Merlin and Arthur had managed to hire most of their mutual friends to work in the kitchen (Lancelot had surprising culinary skills, and Percival was head chef) and as baristas. He continued, "-In addition, might I say, of my job which is in developing the recipes and keeping the bugs out of the manufacturing whatsits,"

"Well I have to manage the paperwork that everyone else's neglected or studiously ignored!" Arthur retorted, "And deal with Leon to make sure we get quality materials- not to mention making sure that we don't miss any promotion opportunities as well as making sure Gaius gets something out of this," he snorted. "Let's just quit complaining. And anyway, I'm not the boss. We're co-owners, officially anyway-_partner._"

"Only because my name's on the contract, not because I actually paid for any of it,"  
"Oh stop being such a grumpy-puss! And you know perfectly well that I only got as good a deal as I did because Gaius likes you so stop complaining," Arthur repeated with a frown. "And anyway, isn't today something rather important?"  
Merlin's face broke out in a grin, "You remembered!"

Arthur didn't say anything, but before Merlin knew what was happening he had pulled a giant pink heart out from under his side of the bed and plopped it in Merlin's lap. 'Happy 3-month Anniversary' was written in Arthur's neat, formal writing on the label. Merlin teared up, "Honestly this is so cheesy! You didn't have to get me anything, never mind chocolate! And I don't have anything for you..." he trailed off.

"Open it," came Arthur's reply.

Merlin gently untied the lace ribbon before opening the box. To his surprise, after lifting the lid, the box was empty. Merlin glanced up at Arthur in confusion just in time to catch Arthur's wild grin and notice that Arthur was armed with what looked like a water squirter.

Merlin gave a shout of surprise, "_OH NO YOU DON'T_," before making a hasty attempt at wrestling the squirter away from Arthur.

It was too late.

Before Merlin knew what was happening, he was being squirted in the face with something warm, wet and sticky...

"... CHOCOLATE SAUCE?!"  
Arthur was, at this point, unable to contain his laughter. He dropped the squirter as he doubled over wheezing. Seeing his chance, Merlin made a grab for it and emptied the rest of its contents over Arthur's head and down the front of his shirt.

After a moment both men ended up on Arthur's bed laughing and Arthur gently stroked Merlin's head.

"I hope you aren't too disappointed," he murmured, "but I figured that you'd find this better than any gift I could get... and I wanted to show you that I care about you,"

"Useless clotpole," Merlin muttered, but then he turned to Arthur with amusement written all over his sticky face. "You look a right mess, you know,"  
Arthur smiled through the chocolate, "Well whose idea was it to empty the chocolate squirter over my head and down my chest, hmm? You, on the other hand," he purred, "look delicious- almost good enough to eat,"  
"Hmm well I would imagine that having chocolate down your front is quite uncomfortable," Merlin moved his position to reach for Arthur's shirt, "Maybe we should get this-" he tugged at the other man's now ruined white shirt "-out of the way and then I could help you clean up,"

Arthur sat up and allowed Merlin to tug the shirt over his head. "Right shame, "Merlin mumbled, "I rather liked that one. It was tight," before Arthur occupied Merlin's mouth with actions other than talking.

In a flurry of tender kisses which started down low and made their way up to Arthur's perfectly square jaw, Merlin managed to clear up every last drop of the chocolate, Arthur shuddering with every touch. When Merlin had finally made his way up toward Arthur's face Arthur was met with a dopey grin.

Arthur cleared his throat, "I think you've got something-" he planted a greedy kiss on Merlin's cheek, "-here. And also something here," he continued speaking as he licked the sauce off of Merlin's face before Merlin drew him in for a long, chocolate-flavored kiss.

When they drew apart Merlin smiled. "This was the best anniversary yet,"

"You say that every time,"

"And I mean it every time, because you just keep getting more and more creative. Now, whatever shall we do about this?" he motioned toward the chocolate sauce which was still clumped in Arthur's golden hair.

Arthur drew the other man in for another long kiss before breathlessly offering, "Fancy a shower?"  
"Sounds like a good way to get all this mess cleared up," Merlin replied before following Arthur into his bathroom.

A few nights later it was Arthur's turn to be home from work late. He climbed up the steps to his flat and made note of the kitchen lights being left on. Although they hadn't talked to their friends about it yet, Merlin had all but moved in with Arthur and apparently he was home early.

He trudged into his apartment tiredly and threw his car keys down on the counter before going toward his room wordlessly. He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly dark brown liquid came from nowhere to cover his torso with a sticky residue. He heard some muffled giggling before staggering backward blindly and falling straight into a box in the hall.

He opened his eyes. What he saw was in no way pleasing to him.

"Oh. My. God," Merlin squeaked, "Oh my _god_, Arthur!"

Arthur looked down again. He was covered from head to foot in chocolate and pink feathers, and a bucket sat menacingly on the ground where it had fallen after being rigged into the door frame.

Merlin spoke again, giggling, "You weren't supposed to- the bucket was- I didn't know-" he burst out into full-fledged guffaws, "The _feathers!_ That wasn't part of the plan, I swear,"

Arthur frowned.

"Oh please don't be mad! I'm the one who's supposed to be mad now, y'know? I had plans! And now you've gone and got yourself covered in pink feathers... Oh Arthur, whatever am I going to do with you?" Merlin sighed, "Come on, we'd best get you hosed down," he said before leading Arthur into the bathroom and putting him, clothes, chocolate and feathers, into the shower.

When he had finished rinsing the last of the feathers out of Arthur's hair, Merlin had to do his best not to laugh at the indignant expression Arthur wore. Arthur, on the contrary, was uncomfortable, sticky and wearing wet clothes which were getting exponentially wetter with every minute that passed.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said as he started to take off Arthur's shirt. "I really didn't mean for that to happen, you know. I was getting you back for the chocolate sauce. The feathers were a complete accident, I swear,"

Arthur found himself unable to stay upset at Merlin and broke out into a grin of his own, and the both of them laughed at the mess Arthur had managed to make. Then after relieving Arthur of his sopping trousers they made their way once more to the bedroom.

Merlin and Arthur's relationship continued in this vein for a few more weeks before they decided to discuss said relationship with their mutual friends. Lancelot and Gwen were the first to know- although that had been more of an accident. Gwen had forgotten to knock when bursting excitedly into Merlin's office at work and had caught them snogging in Merlin's rotating chair. Lancelot simply shrugged off the news, muttering something about how it was 'about time' before getting back to his work in perfecting a new, creamier, caramel recipe. After that, Gwen and Lancelot occasionally accompanied Merlin and Arthur on what could pass for 'double dates'.

After they had been together for four months, Merlin and Arthur gathered their small group of friends at the Dragon for a party and made out.

That's how everyone found out that they'd been shagging. In fact, the only person somewhat put out by this revelation was Gwaine, but that was because he had a secret crush on Merlin. Later that evening after getting reasonably drunk he approached Merlin and Arthur and had to be told: no, we aren't looking for a third bedmate right now, yes I understand that threesomes can be exciting, but no... Gwaine I think you're drunk. The first and last parts were repeated somewhat insistently by Arthur as he accompanied Gwaine back to his apartment after they all left.

Five months had passed since that fateful evening when Arthur had first kissed Merlin, and the two were doing quite well for themselves. They both completed each other and worked as a team. Merlin was obsessed with books, formulas, and the general details of any operation, whereas Arthur worked as a natural leader- in charge and in control of any situation. They had become inseperable and were as in tune as two sides of the same coin: completely different in nature but somehow in sync.

Meanwhile, the Dragon had become successful, and Arthur had been right: after some time, everything had settled down into a rhythm. Their friends were as amazing as ever, and their families were also doing well. Mordred had turned eighteen and was looking forward to going to go to university himself in the autumn term. Merlin's mother simply adored Arthur, and Arthur had even managed to come out to his father.

Two weeks earlier

_Arthur took a deep breath and paced the long hallway outside his father's corporate office. He had been doing so for the past ten minutes, reciting and rewriting everything he was about to say in his mind while muttering nervously to himself. He shut his eyes –if he's all right with it, great. If he isn't... well, it's not like we've had the best relationship... far from it... and I'm not financially dependent on him anymore- he thought to himself, picturing in his mind every possible scenario. _

_No amount of wordless pep talk was doing anything to control his anxiety, however. Taking another deep breath, Arthur turned on his heel and before he had the chance to flee the building, he rapped solidly on the door three times. _

"_Come in," came a stern sounding voice from the other side. _

_Shaking, Arthur opened the door and slunk in to his father's large office. Uther sat on the other side of the room at a big desk and was surveying paperwork. On seeing Arthur, he took off his spectacles. "What is it, Arthur?" _

_Arthur started counting again _–one, two, three-_ "Father, I needed to visit you because," _–four, five, six-_ "-I know we haven't... really... been speaking much lately, and there's something..." he trailed off. _

_Uther prompted him, "Something?" _–seven, eight, nine-_ "Yes, well tell me,"_

-ten, eleven, twelve-_ "It's just that- it's important and I'd really like to er-" _–thirteen, fourteen, fifteen-

_His father sat up and met Arthur's eyes steadily. "Arthur," he started carefully, "Whatever it is, please just spit it out."  
_-sixteen, seventeen-_ "Father, I- I'm er. All right. I'm seeing someone, and it's really important," –eighteen nineteen- "-To me at least. Dad, I'm bisexual, and I've been dating a bloke for a few months now." _–twenty-

_For a long, silent moment Uther had been chillingly quiet. He surveyed his son who was shifting nervously before him and had ceased to make eye contact. "Arthur," he started, choosing his words very carefully, "Please _look_ at me," he waited until Arthur met his penetrating and fierce gaze. He continued, "Please understand me when I say that... although I had hoped you would one day marry a lovely woman and give me grandchildren, you are my son... and even though I admit the idea of... of you with another man will take some getting used to, you are still and always will be my son, and I love you no matter what."  
Arthur stared. "Y-you... you mean you're – you're all right with it?"  
Uther sighed, "Of course I am! As I said- it will take some... adjustment in my way of thinking, but I won't fight you on this. You're a grown, independent man, capable of making your own decisions. Now, you say you've been dating a few months?" he switched the subject, "And it would be nice to know this bloke's name,"  
Surprised, Arthur couldn't help a wide grin from spreading over his face, "Yeah, we've been seeing each other for five months now, and I really, _really_ like him," he reddened, "A-and I think he likes me too, so er... oh! And um his name's Merlin. Merlin Emrys,"  
Uther suppressed a smile of his own. _–I still don't quite understand-_ he was thinking, _-but if this Merlin is having such an effect on Arthur, then he must not be too bad-_ "Well I guess the next thing to happen would be for me to actually meet this... Merlin," he said. "Perhaps you should invite him to supper one night at the manor- we'll make sure that Morgana is there as well, " he paused, and added as an afterthought, "And it would be... delightful... to meet the rest of the Emrys family while we're at it. Have Merlin invite them over for Friday, all right?"  
"That... that would be amazing!" Arthur had exclaimed, overjoyed. _

_After that, Uther had even offered Arthur a brief, one-armed hug, which Arthur had gladly accepted _–wonders never cease-_ he thought, as he left the office building and drove back to the flat he now shared with Merlin, excited to share the news. _

At this point, Merlin and Arthur had been together for half a year. As usual, Merlin arrived back at the flat and began to tug off his uncomfortable tie as he walked down the hall. However, being their six-month anniversary, today was not a normal day, and Merlin paced nervously in the sitting room with his hands shoved in his suit pockets. He chewed on his lip, took a deep breath, and made his way toward the bedroom, where Arthur undoubtedly waited.

As he shoved open the door he grinned as he opened his mouth in greeting. Before he could say anything, however, a bucket toppled from the ceiling _–oh no he DIDN'T-_ Merlin thought fleetingly before he squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation.

It didn't come. All Merlin felt was a tickling sensation as something as something soft drifted from the bucket –which was rigged to the door and didn't fall- and landed all over him. In surprise, Merlin opened his eyes.

"...Rose petals?" he asked, surprise written over his face.

Arthur lay on the bed grinning. Before Merlin could say anything else, the blond man hushed him before pulling a chocolate box out from under the bed. He walked over to Merlin and pressed it into his hands.

"Déjà vu," Merlin whispered as he read the note on the outside of the box.

_Dear Merlin,_

_There's actual chocolate in this one! Truffles as well, you're favorite. I can't really put in to words how much you mean to me- how much you've changed my life... I love you. Happy six months' _

_Love, Arthur. _

Inside the box, attached to the lid were two tickets- Arthur had managed to acquire them tickets for the fanciest restaurant in town_. –How long must he have been planning this?-_ Merlin thought, touched.

He teared up as he looked back at Arthur. "I-I don't know what to say!" he sniffled, the tips of his ears going red, "You are undoubtedly the most amazing person I have _ever_ met... I love you too! Always have, and... the thing is, Arthur," he took a deep breath, "I always will. Now, I have to say, you've surprised me," he indicated the candles in the corner, the tickets, the atmosphere, "But the thing is, I actually meant to give you a surprise of my own," shakily, Merlin fumbled in his jacket pocket once more for the box he had been fingering all day. As he brought it out, hands trembling, he got down on one knee.

"Arthur Pendragon," Merlin started, as Arthur watched in shock, "I have known you for three years of my life... and I've been with you for half a year. You have changed me in ways I never could have imagined, and I cannot imagine living life without you. You complete me- and before I make a complete arse of myself and botch something up-would you do the honor of marrying me?" Merlin finished, breathlessly.

Arthur had been staring, dumbstruck into Merlin's clear and sincere eyes. He opened his mouth, but at first no words came out. He cleared his throat awkwardly while nodding profusely and managed to choke out a "Yes! _Yes. _I mean, yes," he blushed, "Of course I will, you sod! And here I was, thinking_ I_ was trying too hard to be romantic," a smile stretched across his face as Merlin hurriedly all but shoved the ring- an intertwined band of silver and gold- onto his ring finger.

"Do you like it?"  
"Yes! I do! Merlin... it's perfect," Arthur admired the ring, "It's simple, but delicate, and... and it is everything I could picture a ring to be," he finished lamely.

Merlin smiled, "Mine matches, see?" he pulled out his own ring, and it was identical to Arthur's except that where Arthur's had gold as its dominant color, Merlin's was silver.

"It is absolutely perfect," Arthur murmured again. "you do know what this means though," he continued with a sly smile.

"What's that?"  
"We are undoubtedly and irrevocably the cheesiest couple ever to walk the face of this planet," Arthur supplied, jokingly. Merlin grinned into his shoulder as he drew in for a meaningful embrace.

"That's okay with me."  
"Good. Because I wouldn't wish for anything else."

Merlin giggled cheekily, "Come on though... _fiancé..._ I think we can both agree that the rose petals-" he indicated the red mess on the floor, "-Are a tad bit overkill. Cliché and all that,"  
With an expression of mock hurt on his face, Arthur flicked a stray flower petal off of Merlin's head before reaching down, hoisting a squirming Merlin over his shoulders, and flinging him into the bed. "Less, talking there... _fiancé_," he growled, "I can think of some better things to do to occupy your lips,"

Merlin gave an indignant gasp before burying his hands in Arthur's soft, golden hair and pulling the other man down for an intimate kiss.

After three months, the two were married. Plans for the wedding went in to action immediately after the announcement. The announcement itself had been a trial- as soon as Gwen spotted the ring on Merlin's finger, Lancelot knew, ergo everyone knew. After it had been made official, a grumpy looking Gwaine had dug in his wallet before handing a gleeful Percival a fifty pound note. Leon simply sighed and rolled his eyes- the childish antics of those two had long since been beneath him. In fact, by the time the engagement parties and rehearsal dinners had started, Percival was positively giddy at having predicted this, whereas Gwaine was actually quite bummed- he had still fancied Merlin- but he had to admit that he and Arthur were adorable together.

Arthur himself was another story. In retrospect, he and Merlin agreed that they should have seen Percival's massive betting as an invasion of personal space coming, and as it was it hadn't been a surprise. However, Arthur was also prone to social anxiety, and wanted to establish more boundaries. Merlin was also peeved due to the nature of the bet- evidently half of his friends had bet that he and Arthur would break it off, and the other half insisted that the 'next step' was entering a polygamous relationship with Gwaine.

Everything seemed to resolve itself at the rehearsal dinner. The evening started out with a disastrous prediction- it was the first time that Merlin, Arthur, their respective families, and their friends had been forced to share space. The awkwardness was soon smoothed out, however, when Gwaine started drooling over Morgana, and Lean and Gwen engaged Merlin's younger brother Mordred and his new girlfriend, Freya in conversation pertaining to university. Lancelot soon joined in with some helpful suggestions because Mordred had become interested in French Literature and cuisine and hoped to study abroad. Meanwhile, Uther had become overwhelmed and had to be coaxed into a conversation about company management by an ever so kind Hunith and Will to be more comfortable.

For the majority of the evening, Morgana ignored Gwaine's futile attempts at flirting. After the main course had been served, however, she found herself having to scathingly tell off a disrespectful waiter, and (although she had handled it and sent the waiter off his his tail between his legs, so to speak) Gwaine came to her aid and offered to report the waiter himself. She then eyed him curiously for the next few minutes as they shared a wordless conversation of eyebrow raising and cheeky grins before they both got up, announced their using the toilets, and left.

They didn't return for a half hour at least. Consequently, the rehearsal speeches were a disaster, because although Lancelot was the best man, Gwaine and a few others were also meant to give a few words. When Gwaine didn't stand up to give his speech on cue, Arthur realized that something was awry and became positively livid- about to storm into whatever broom closet they'd found and tear Gwaine to pieces- until the two returned. When they arrived, Morgana was wearing a smug smile, and Gwaine was flushed but grinning wildly.

Before Arthur could leap with the cake knife at Gwaine, Merlin managed to distract him with a few whispered words, but Arthur continued to shoot daggers in Gwaine's direction for the remainder of the evening. Meanwhile, Lancelot and Gwen were entirely unable to contain their amusement at the train-wreck of an evening their friends had managed to create, and the foolishness on Gwaine's part for shagging Arthur's sister in the middle of his rehearsal wedding night.

Uther, of course, was entirely oblivious to what was going on and continued his discussion with a kindhearted Hunith and a genuinely intrigued Will until leaving for the evening. Merlin and Arthur excused themselves for the night to get "an early start" on their honeymoon. Mordred and Freya stuck around until Gwen and Lancelot left, Gwen bidding goodnight to her older brother. Eventually, Leon, Percival and Elyan were left to themselves (Morgana and Gwaine had slipped out early) with what was left of the champagne, and the greater part of the cake. After a few hours, the champagne was gone-as was the cake- and the expensive-looking china platter it had been served on was lying in pieces on the floor.

Elyan, Leon and Percival shared a silent look of understanding before sneaking out of the dining hall and leaving the mess for someone else to deal with. The plate was billed to Arthur, and he would spend the next few weeks complaining about why they couldn't have nice things.

All in all, the evening had been a success. It had prepared everybody for the night that was to follow. Merlin and Arthur stood at the alter wearing matching tuxedos, their family and friends looking on fondly as they said "I do," and then left for a honeymoon which would turn into one of the rare "happily ever after," stories they would one day tell their kids about.


End file.
